Trump's trade war just hit real estate:
Construction costs are exploding overnight. Foreign investors are abandoning U.S. properties as developers freeze projects in most cities.
It started not too long ago. Trump hit Canada, Mexico, and China with sweeping tariffs:
• Steel & aluminum: +25% • Chinese goods: 10% → 20% “No exemptions. No exceptions.”
The market response was immediate and brutal: https://x.com/BeAlterEgos/status/1917595016161329614
Christie’s Real Estate reported a $65M Bel-Air deal collapse overnight.
An agent summed it up: “We’ve been on a wild ride. Buyers are nervous about everything.”
As luxury deals unraveled, a deeper pattern emerged… https://x.com/BeAlterEgos/status/1917595126530204111
Construction costs skyrocketed, right as demand evaporated.
Tariffs on metals, lumber, and concrete crushed developers:
• Concrete (Mexico) • Steel/aluminum: +25% • Softwood lumber (Canada)
An already fragile sector broke and developers faced a brutal choice: https://x.com/BeAlterEgos/status/1917595192603074773
They could either absorb the costs, raise prices in a falling market or pause projects entirely. Most picked option 3. Construction froze across major metros. But the damage didn’t stop there…
Foreign owners started dumping assets. Canadians, once huge U.S. property investors, began cashing out in Florida and Arizona. “We sold because of the politics,” one told WSJ. The commercial market, already fragile post-pandemic, began unraveling: https://x.com/BeAlterEgos/status/1917595223523520540
“No one wants to be the last one holding the bag,” said Mark Weiss of Cushman & Wakefield. Why? It’s not just economics. It’s psychology. “Uncertainty is kryptonite to commercial real estate,” said Trepp's Lonnie Hendry. Despite this, not all cities are hurting: https://x.com/BeAlterEgos/status/1917595236009926696
Capital is fleeing to safe havens like London, Zurich, Singapore, Tokyo, and Dubai. These markets have strong legal systems, stable currencies, and political predictability. Meanwhile, emerging markets are unraveling: https://x.com/BeAlterEgos/status/1917595327575777293
For example, in Nigeria: • Construction costs have surged • Overseas remittances are drying up • 70% of building materials are imported With no buffers, prices are crashing. The lesson?
Real estate is no longer just about location. It’s about political stability, trade policy, and macro risk. A single tariff can now vaporize billions in property value overnight. Real estate is now a geopolitical asset class:
I don't think people understand what's happening in housing market right now. Florida now has 177,00 listings. Highest level on record. Entire Northeast U.S. has 79,000 listings. Lowest level on record. People are leaving Florida. And moving back north. A structural trend that will likely last years, and cause Florida's housing market to decline for an extended period.
So with an already cooling housing demand, Trump's tariff is not helping housing sector:
> by increasing Construction Cost as a result of higher tariffs on steel, aluminium, lumber
> consumer tapped out and now made worse by Trump's tariffs in reducing whatever purchasing power that remains
> by making foreigners selling US real estate
